The Stunning Transformation Of The AT&T Girl, Milana Vayntrub

As sure as the sun rises every morning, you can count on certain big companies to put out entertaining and memorable commercials as often as possible. From insurance companies with their iconic one-liners (Jake from State Farm, anyone?) to cellular companies with their own version of a mascot, commercials these days are certainly fun to watch. And, speaking of cellular companies, you probably recognize the AT&T girl from all her commercials for the company. But, really, her career is a lot more expansive than just selling family plans and convincing you to upgrade your data plan.

Still, while the stunning transformation of the AT&T girl, Milana Vayntrub, is certainly intriguing, one thing is for sure: She is so much more than just the girl from those commercials. Vayntrub is talented, smart, hilarious, and, yes, gorgeous. So, if you want to know more about her, keep reading, because she has quite the interesting story.

To look at Milana Vayntrub, it's pretty obvious that the actor is stunning. But what you might not know is that she wasn't born in the United States. In fact, her family had a difficult time trying to get to America when she was just a baby. Vayntrub was actually born in the Soviet Union — in Uzbekistan, to be exact — and she came to the United States as a refugee when she was just a toddler.

Vayntrub has been open about her family's struggle to come to America and how grateful she is that they did. "Once here, my parents worked their butts off to give me a good education and upbringing... They did a great job," she told Elite Daily in an interview. Additionally, Vayntrub has expressed her gratitude to her mother for taking care of her and immigrating to a new country. "Hey Ma! Thanks for lugging my chubby cheeks to America," she captioned an adorable photo on Instagram of her mother and her as child. So, as much as she might be the AT&T girl to you, Vayntrub's life has been a lot more interesting than cell phone commercials.

Obviously, you know Milana Vayntrub from her flawless work in the AT&T commercials, but her acting skills extend far beyond the reaches of those advertisements. In fact, Vayntrub has been acting for most of her life, and there's a reason it comes so naturally to her — she's been acting since she was a young child. Of course, Vayntrub isn't quite like the other child stars of the early '90s, as she didn't have a recurring role on a popular show like "Full House" or shoot to stardom from her childhood acting. Still, considering she was new to the United States as a little girl, her roles back then are remarkable.

According to Vayntrub, she started acting when she was still a toddler. "I did a commercial for a phone company when I was five," she told Esquire in an interview. However, according to her IMDb page, Vayntrub's first official role was in 1995 when she was only 8 years old. At such a young age, Vayntrub's impressive role might shock you, as she played Tatiana in three episodes of "ER." So, yeah, Vayntrub's got talent, along with the resume to prove it.

Milana Vayntrub might not be a household name, but that isn't to say that the actor hasn't been working hard in the industry for most of her life. Vayntrub actually made a reputation for herself when she was young for appearing in dramatic shows, even though she, herself, is more of a comedian in real life.

Just a year after Vayntrub's acting career officially took off with her part in "ER," she landed another role without even trying. In 1996, Vayntrub appeared in three episodes of "Days of Our Lives" as a young Kristen Blake. "I actually don't have tons of memories from it," she told Esquire of her time on the show. "I played someone in a flashback version. I ended up not auditioning for that. They just called me after they saw me on ['ER'] to do that." Clearly, Vayntrub's acting skills can speak for themselves, and they've been doing that since she was just a kid.

Lest you think Milana Vayntrub couldn't break out of her dramatic soap-opera mold when she was a child, she actually got into comedy acting pretty young, too. From 2001 to 2002, Vayntrub actually appeared in three different episodes of "Lizzie McGuire," though she herself has joked that the roles weren't anything big or special. While millennials and anyone who grew up watching the Disney Channel looks back on "Lizzie McGuire" with great fondness, Vayntrub might see the show a little differently, specifically when it came to her role as "Cute Burper," and yes, you read that correctly.

"The whole episode took place in a hidden camera kind of setup," Vayntrub told Esquire of one of her parts in the series. "One of the characters set up hidden cameras around the school and he caught me eating and burping. That was it." Vayntrub added that she didn't even have to actually burp, but she had been practicing just in case. "I'm a professional disgusting person!" she joked. Hey, she clearly nailed the part, and that's what matters!

Obviously, Milana Vayntrub is perfect as the AT&T girl, Lily Adams, in commercials, and though she has years of acting experience behind her, there's one genre in which she really shines — and that's comedy. 

But while Vayntrub's part as the AT&T girl in all the commercials certainly has some comedic moments, it's nothing compared to the roles she's landed since her child acting days. Comedy basically seems to be in her DNA. "Comedy came early," she explained to Esquire about how she instinctively knew she wanted to get into comedy. "I knew when I was a kid that I was silly and I knew that I liked people who were funny, but I don't think I knew I was funny. I didn't really think about it." Basically, Vayntrub has always been funny, and humor has come naturally to her. 

Though Milana Vayntrub had a pretty successful career for someone so young, it wasn't all that easy for her to get where she is today. For the most part, after her roles in "Lizzie McGuire," Vayntrub actually only appeared in a few projects — mostly shorts here and there. And there's a reason why it seems like she practically disappeared from Hollywood for a while: She did.

Vayntrub told Esquire that she needed a little break from acting. "I stopped around middle school and high school because I remember thinking, 'I should probably focus on something more realistic,'" she said. But obviously, Vayntrub would find her way back to acting eventually, though it took a few years. "I went to UC San Diego and I didn't really like the school or anything," she added, explaining that she ended up enjoying their theater program, which, of course, led her back to acting. "I totally got sucked back in," she said. Sometimes, taking a little break from something, even something you love, is just what you need to know you're in it for the long haul.

Milana Vayntrub first got her start as AT&T girl Lily Adams in 2013. In case you were wondering just how Vayntrub feels about filming AT&T commercials, she's basically had an overall positive experience. Still, Vayntrub was pretty honest about how making the commercials wasn't exactly like creating a Sundance film, and the way she described it certainly sounds efficient.

In an interview with PopSugar, Milana Vayntrub described them as going by pretty quickly and not having to memorize many lines. "The AT&T spots were one page of dialogue a day, and often, [the] camera didn't have to move too much on the AT&T spot, so we kind of had a day of just shooting new 30-second spots in every different iteration," she said. Vayntrub's experience working with AT&T might not sound all that interesting, but she still nailed her part.

Just like Milana Vayntrub's career extends far beyond her role as the AT&T girl, so do her passions. Not only is Vayntrub talented and funny, but she also has a big heart and cares about helping people.

As a refugee, herself, it's no wonder that Vayntrub is passionate about the refugee crisis, and once she learned about the true extent of the crisis, she did what she could to help. In an interview with Elite Daily, Vayntrub explained that while she was in Greece and saw the crisis for herself, she got hands-on and did what she could to help. "I just felt like I couldn't not do something — 'can't do nothing' so summarizes how it felt for me," she said. "Even if it's just me being there, just me hugging people or changing diapers — I could do that and maybe it would make a difference in the world." Vayntrub is passionate about helping others — that much is clear.

Riding the high of her new, easily-recognizable role in the AT&T commercials, it seems that Milana Vayntrub was able to book more and more roles. Fortunately for Vayntrub, being the AT&T girl didn't typecast her, as she soon was able to work with a legendary director on an exciting project.

In 2017, Vayntrub landed a role in the series "That Moment When," an interactive show from the streaming website Eko. And, in an interview with PopSugar, Vayntrub explained that the series was loads of fun to film. "Most of it is scripted, and then we improvise on top," she said. There's always a script — and it was always stellar and totally carried itself," she said, but added that, because she loves to improvise, "they cast other improvisers in the show so there were also a bunch of extra lines, too." Clearly, Vayntrub has been able to land work she connects with and enjoys.

Just because Milana Vayntrub hasn't starred in her own hit series or blockbuster film doesn't mean she isn't talented and successful. Yes, though she may be best known as the AT&T girl, her resume is filled with impressive projects she's worked on, such as a certain role on a hit TV series, for which she put herself out there like never before.

From 2016 to 2017, Vayntrub starred in eight episodes of the beloved NBC drama "This Is Us," and, though she donned glasses, fans still recognized her from the AT&T commercials. Vayntrub played Sloane Sandburg, a playwright and love interest for the series' main character Kevin Pearson. Obviously, "This Is Us" is a popular series, so Vayntrub's role on the show probably made her pretty proud. Although, really, to see Vayntrub act is to know that she deserves every role and accolade she has achieved.

At this point, it's pretty obvious that Milana Vayntrub can't be pigeonholed. The talented actor can apparently go from sweet AT&T salesperson to complex love interest to animated comic book character.

In 2018 and 2019, Vayntrub starred as Squirrel Girl in the miniseries "Marvel Rising: Initiation," along with the two TV movies "Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors" and "Marvel Rising: Chasing Ghosts." For comic book fans, Vayntrub's portrayal of Squirrel Girl was perfect, something the actor, herself, even noticed. "I'm very like Squirrel Girl, truly," she said during an interview at the 2019 WonderCon. "In fact, when I read her –- when I read the comics before any of this, I felt like she talks like I talk. And, so, as a voice actor, I don't have to do too much to make her more like myself." This is yet another example of how acting has come so naturally to Vayntrub — even something as difficult as voice acting, since you can't use facial expressions to get your point across. Not that it needs to be said again, but Vayntrub's talent is crystal clear.

Milana Vayntrub is obviously gorgeous, but she is so much more than just a pretty face. And that's something she wants to make very clear. Because of comments people online made about Vayntrub's body in the AT&T commercials, she took to Instagram Live to explain how the hurtful words affected her mental health.

As Deadline reported, Vayntrub didn't back down when it came to the comments made about her body, and, for her, even positive comments were troubling to hear. "But all of these comments... it hurts my feelings," she said. "I'm hurting and it's bringing up, like, a lot of feelings of sexual assault. I am just like, you know, walking my dog and getting messages from people who have distorted my pictures to get likes on their accounts." Vayntrub isn't afraid to stick up for herself, and as sad as it is that she needed to at all, it's great that she put those trolls in their place.

Though more known as an actress, Milana Vayntrub does a lot more than act. According to her IMDb page, she's written, produced, and directed. In fact, she's even directed commercials for AT&T when she stars as Lily Adams. Clearly, Vayntrub is a woman of many talents.

And Vayntrub isn't afraid to brag about those skills. Taking to Twitter, she let her followers know why one certain directorial decision was made, explaining why they wouldn't be seeing her full body in AT&T commercials. "Been getting a lot of 'why are they placing her body like that in those ads?' Well, I direct the ads," she wrote. "I place myself like that. And it's because of the thousands of unwelcome comments I receive about my body. You've lost the privilege of looking at it until I feel safe again." Honestly, good for Vayntrub for continuing to stand up for herself and for directing her own commercials. If that's not impressive, then what is?